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Everglades Boogie 2010 – 8. February, 2010

Being back in the cold and snowy weather of the Midwest has me pining for the sun, warmth and blue skies of Florida. I can’t help but day dream of the times spent in Ft. Myers, DeLand, Sebastian, Zephyrhills, and Clewiston.

CIMG2143

Which is where I will begin my journey – the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures.

This was the main event for us: the reason we chose Florida this time of the year as opposed to Arizona or Puerto Rico where other jump buddies were traveling this winter.

The Everglades Boogie caught our eye for a number of reasons: the high altitude jump, the skyvan, the Pitts biplane, and of course, the affordability of traveling to this state.

We kept our budget low by stocking groceries in a cooler and sleeping in our car most nights. Luckily our “midsize” rental ended up being a Dodge Journey.

09-dodge-journey-2

Fold the back seats down and you’ve got the perfect sleeping arrangements… well, close to perfect, anyhow.

After spending our first day in Ft. Myers, walking along the beach, eating some mediocre seafood and watching the sunset over the Gulf, we headed to Clewiston for our first night around the bonfire.

CIMG2182 (Sunset over Ft. Myers Beach)

To our surprise there was only one other group camping out that night – a couple guys who are regulars at Skydive AirAdventures. The following few nights were spent around the bonfire with these fellas.

Here’s video evidence that the times spent around the fire were quite entertaining:

Thanks to Rick and Lisa for the 8 kegs provided after hours. Oh the things free beer will entice you to do…

Anyway, back to the skydiving.

There are a lot of individual stories to tell from this event, but I’ll give you the basic rundown before we go into any specifics.

The first two days were beautiful, a little breezy, but nothing to worry about. The LZ was large enough where I didn’t have to worry too much about off landings. In fact, I only landed off once – into the packing area on the last jump of day 2. This made me think that it’s time to seriously start considering downsizing my canopy. With an exit weight of 135, it gets difficult to make it back to the dropzone on breezy days under my Triathlon 160. But that’s a topic for another day.

Thursday was the first day of the boogie and it was a little slower than anticipated, but by the end of the day the Super Otter was turning loads. To my surprise though, I couldn’t for the life of me get anyone other than Rick to jump on the sunset load. So I ended the day with four. Here’s a video compilation of these jumps.

I edited in a little commentary and music (Angels & Airwaves, one of my favorites!) for your enjoyment as this one is a little lengthy.

As you can see, we’re really working as a team to stay close and relative in our sit. Needless to say this trip gave us a great chance to practice … by the time we got to Zhills we were seeing incredible improvement!

Friday was another beautiful day. The skyvan showed up from DeLand too so our last three jumps were from a tailgate. It’s pretty fun to watch a huge plane poop out people like that.

The GoPro didn’t want to cooperate on Friday, but here are a couple of our skyvan jumps that day: another 2-way sit and a 4-way horny gorilla exit that looks pretty cool. Rick also had a close call with a swooper as you’ll notice at the end of the video. But it’s all good and everyone is okay.

Saturday was our last day at Skydive AirAdventures and the day we took part in a high altitude jump – and my first chop. Both of these will be discussed in greater detail later.

What I do want to take time to mention is how incredible the experience was at Skydive AirAdventures. The Everglades Boogie was run very smoothly, and though I’m sure it seemed like a madhouse to DOZs Rick and Lisa, they pulled it off successfully. There were a number of vendors there doing demos and selling their stuff including Performance Designs, EG Suits, Aerodyne, and more. I was incredibly impressed with the reps at PD…that’s all I’ll say on that for now.

CIMG2195

Aside from the boogie, the atmosphere at this DZ is incredible. The regulars were welcoming and Rick and Lisa made us feel right at home. After my cut away Rick was quick to take me aside and make sure I was okay. Thomas is an incredible rigger who took the time to thoroughly check out my rig and repack my reserve as well.

This is definitely a DZ I’ll be visiting again in the near future.

The last evening there was spent around the bonfire, watching Jeff carve a block of ice into a closing pin shot luge. Not only is this guy an incredible wing suiter, he’s also an ice sculptor. Talents abound in the skydiving world!

CIMG2248

CIMG2278 (The finished product, ready for ice cold shots!)

We also met some fellow mid-westerners out of Missouri who we’re hoping to connect with again soon. If you’re reading, great meeting you Susan!

Thanks to everyone for making this an incredible boogie weekend. I was able to meet fellow skydivers and make some new friends. Can’t wait to get back in the air with y’all again soon.

If you’re ever in South Florida, I highly recommend heading over to Clewiston for a jump or two at Skydive AirAdventures. The staff will take good care of you.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from the first few days of our trip – in Ft. Myers and around the Everglades Boogie. (All photos below by Ashley Mead)

CIMG2149 (Looking out over the Gulf in Ft. Myers)

(Attempting to feed the Heron – notice the shirt!)

(This little guy kept dive bombing for food)

(Sharing a sunset at Ft. Myers Beach)

(The PD tent during the boogie)

(Jet rides were available)

(Last night at the bonfire)

Blue skies!

Ashley

2 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Free Fall, Freefly, Jump buddies, Reviews, Swooping

Post-Christmas Skydive – 28. December, 2009

There’s nothing quite like a sunset jump on Dec. 26th to make your holiday spirits even brighter!

sunset12

As I mentioned last week, one of the weekend’s goals was to head out to the DZ to share in some beers and laughs with the crew. Well, lucky for us, the skies were blue and the winds on the ground were tame enough to allow a jump!

We were surprised to find out that there were only two sport jumpers packed and ready to go – Rick and me. But, the DZO was feeling the Christmas spirit and took us up anyhow. You rock, Cecil!

The winds aloft were moving at a good clip, and we were prepared to get out above the water tower – about a mile past the DZ.

Well, on this sunset load, we were having a rather difficult time spotting. Needless to say, we got out a mile from the DZ – but a mile in the wrong direction.

The skydive was a simple belly fly with one point and some fun spins before we attempted to link back up. My Dytter went off early so, you’ll notice, I waved before we could link back up.

As I tracked away I realized the dropzone was no where in sight. So I stopped tracking and pulled.

Turns out we were incredibly far north. When I turned into the wind I wasn’t penetrating well. I did my best to follow Rick down, but ended up landing in a field 1/4 mile or so down the road. If you look carefully in the video, you can see the square field I landed in as Rick is doing a 360 to lose some altitude.

Thankfully, I was close to the road and the first passerby put on his brakes and backed up to give me a lift back to my home base. From there I jumped in a car with the pilot and drove around in attempt to find Rick. Little did I know that he’d hitchhiked back as well and was driving around in search of me.

Needless to say we found our way back and had a beer in hand in no time.

There’s something quite invigorating about winter jumps. It clears your head in more ways than one. Aside from not being able to feel my hands, and the subsequent pain when the feeling returned, it was a great jump.

New lesson learned: in the winter, when winds are squirly at altitude, jump with a cell phone!

Blue skies!

Ashley

2 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Jump buddies, Lessons Learned, RW

Gatorz and Bunnies and Balloons, oh my! – 2. November, 2009

balloon

Wait, that’s not right.

But it does accurately describe my Halloween weekend.

Friday was spent running around getting all the pieces for my costume and enjoying the seasonably warm weather. Though windy, I do love an evening of 70+ degrees at the end of October!

Saturday started with an unexpected morning call from Rick, asking me to come over before the DZ party. Since he couldn’t go until late, a pre-party lunch was in order.

Before we headed to get some grub, he surprised me with a “just because” gift: a pair of Gatorz! He actually purchased two pairs, one for him and one for me. I ended up with the Radiators, brushed metal frames and photochromic grey lenses. His pair are very similar, brushed metal with grey lenses, though slightly bigger to fit his face.

Rad_BshGry_777F1L1_lg

Talk about a great gift! I was actually considering getting myself a pair – he knows me so well. I can’t wait to get a strap for them and give ‘em a spin in freefall.

Saturday night was spent at Skydive Pennsylvania with a bunch of our close friends. There were some great costumes that night: everything from fat strippers to Reagan (a la Point Break) to the woman who came as the Skyventure Wind Tunnel. I donned some bunny ears and rubbed dryer lint all over myself so I could be a dust bunny. Clever, eh?

Sunday the weather in PA didn’t start out like we’d imagined. The plan was to get in a bunch of freefly jumps, but upon waking, we were informed that the weather in Ohio was beautiful and that the balloon would be flying. So we un-manifested and headed over to the balloon launch.

Balloon1 *Photo by Robyn Miller

Rick and I were last out of the balloon, doing a two- way with him falling backwards in an attempt to capture my entire jump on video. Unfortunately, his GoPro failed (again) and we didn’t capture the jump.

You’ll have to take my word for it, if you haven’t done one, that it’s the most tranquil experience ever. Falling, silently through the blue sky. There’s just nothing like it.

Balloon2 *Photo by Robyn Miller

I can’t wait to have the opportunity to do one of these again. Let’s just hope for some more good weather before the snow starts to fall.

How did you spend your Halloween weekend?

Blue skies!

Ashley

1 Comment

Posted in Around the bonfire, Drop Zones, Free Fall, Jump buddies, Skydiving Community

SkydiveChick updates – 30. October, 2009

A few updates in the life of a Skydive Chick (and no, I have no idea why I’m using bullets here):

The balloon jump didn’t happen again yesterday. I think I’ve jinxed it by announcing it on Twitter and Facebook. So we’re trying to reschedule, but this time I’m keeping the wheres and whens to myself. You’ll know it’s happened when I post the video.

We tried calling around to all the local DZs and no one was jumping. With a ceiling of 1900 ft and a possible clearing by 5 p.m., that didn’t leave us much time to skydive, and it was still a big IF that the clouds might clear.

So instead I spent part of yesterday evening at North Coast Body Mod in Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH, having Donny draw up the second half of my skydiving tattoo. The closing pin on my wrist was just a little too simple for me, so I decided to have phase 2 drawn up. Donny was able to take the concept in my head and make it come to life. Flipping through his portfolio I knew the tattoo would turn out amazing as his detail work was incredible! I didn’t anticipate actually having the ink done yesterday, but I needed some form of adrenaline rush without jumping. Here’s what it looks like the day after.

(Still a little goopy from the A&D, but you get the idea. What an incredible original piece. I’m so proud to wear this. Thanks, Donny!)

Another great skydiving tattoo that came out of North Coast Body Mod is this one that’s on Rick’s shoulder.

rick tattoo (Actual colors of Rick’s Sabre canopy, absolutely incredible!)

This is a cover up piece done by Brian. I’ve yet to see a reaction other than pure amazement when he shows this off. Needless to say I’m now a huge advocate for North Coast Body Mod. I’ll definitely be tapping their talent the next time I decide to get inked.

Okay, enough about this skydive chick’s life – on to some weekend happenings you actually care about.

Given that this weekend is Halloween, I’m sure there will be a lot of spooktacular boogies going on at most DZs. However, in case you’re unaware, I’ve listed a few that you might want to consider attending if you’re in the area.

10/31 – Target Skysports. UK. Frostbite Friendly 10-way speed competition and Halloween party. Check out the details at Dropzone.com.
10/31 – Skydive Tecumseh. End of year party. This is an event that may be better suited for regulars as they’re having an end of year film competition with footage from around the DZ this season, but it’ll likely be worth the trip as they’re having helicopter jumps as well as a super otter. Don’t forget about what’s likely to be a hilarious Halloween costume contest.
10/31-11/1. Skydive Pennsylvania. Grove City, PA. This is where you’ll find me this year. There’s a Halloween party going on Saturday evening and the weather is supposed to be clear for lots of jumping on Sunday.

Where ever you end up this Halloween…

Blue Skies!

Ashley

3 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Reviews

Oh the memories – 14. October, 2009

So I had every intention of speaking in greater detail today about some of the freefly jumps that were completed this weekend – with video and everything.

But, the video isn’t cooperating, which is a sign that it’s just not meant to be today.

Instead, I’d like to document some of my favorite memories from this season. There have been so many, and with the colder weather coming in (up here in the North, that is), what a better time to reflect on the season and document the best memories in permanent fashion – here on the interwebs.

Let’s go back in time, shall we, and dig up those events, photos, quotes, and times spent around the bonfire that made this season so great.

-Getting to be Bob’s last AFF student at Cleveland Parachute. What an amazing skydiver – and a great friend!

*Photo by Dan Mathie

-Working demos for Danger at Nelson Ledges.

Demo *Photo by Ashley Mead

-Making the move to Canton Air Sports as my home DZ and meeting so many great people in such as short amount of time.

-Completing water training in a pond with 5 men on one of the coldest mornings of the summer.

-Using my on-the-ground photography skills to help out Lonnie during the busy times at Canton Air Sports.

Lonnie *Photo by Lonnie Kirk (one of my first mentors and an incredible photographer)

-Howling with pure excitement under canopy when I finally got my track down.

-The nervousness and pure thrill of jumping my first pack job on my new rig.

(Not my first jump on the rig, but a recent photo of an approach)

-Passing my A-license check dive with Tom, my first instructor, and the ensuing hugs and celebrating with all my DZ friends.

-Getting a skydiving tattoo: closing pin on my right wrist.

tat1

-Jumping from a helicopter at the Work Stinks Boogie. Pure tranquility from 4,500 feet.

Heli3 *Photo by Norman Kent

-Meeting and having photo/video taken by Norman Kent (see above).

-Sitting up on my first attempt at a sitfly, and realizing just how much I love freeflying.

-Getting invited to jump with Team Magnuson and work on my RW skills during the Jump for Diabetes.

-Notable quotes:

Are those your legs, or are you riding a chicken?
HIM. HIM. F#@& HIM.
I like to chase my dad sometimes too!
Don’t over-think it. Just jump.
I’m calling that one the ‘reverse cowgirl!’
BEANS!

-The day I completed a 15 minute pack job and thought to myself “you know, I really don’t dread packing anymore.” And I haven’t minded it since.

-Meeting my freefly partner and planning some of the most exciting jumps of the season.

We even match!

-Celebrating the life of Dan Mathie with fellow skydivers who loved him.

Head Stand

-Attending my first boogie: Work Stinks at Start Skydiving in Lebanon, OH, and mingling with some of the most incredible jumpers.

-Getting to spend quality time with Danger and soaking up all the knowledge I could. You’ll continue to be an inspiration, Dan.

Demo Landing *Photo by Ashley Mead

-Bonding over beers, bonfires and shared experiences with the people who have become my dearest friends.

Looking back, skydiving has completely changed my life – for the better. Honestly, I can say that skydiving has saved my life. This sport has helped me become more self-aware and self confident than I ever dreamed imaginable.

It’s hard to believe how much has been accomplished in a few short months. Finishing out the season as a B-licensed skydiver, with more than 60 skydives under my belt, and a passion like I’ve never experienced before, I’m more than thrilled with how this season unfolded.

I can’t wait to see what the upcoming seasons bring.

What are some of your favorite memories of this skydiving season?

Blue skies!

Ashley

3 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Drop Zones, Freefly, Jump buddies

Home Away from Home – 12. October, 2009

Over the course of the summer, Canton Air Sports has quickly become my home away from home – as is the case for most skydivers and their home DZ.

It’s a place that you look forward to visiting after a long week. A place where you find peace, tranquility, and happiness. A place where you’re all family – an often crazy, dysfunctional family that likes to throw themselves out of airplanes at 13,000 feet and marvel at the video footage after – but a supportive one none the less.

I cherish my home dropzone just as much as my real home. Between the bonfires, stories and advice shared, and great memories built in freefall with like-minded people, who wouldn’t look forward to a weekend at the DZ?

The friends I’ve made this season alone are some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met – and this weekend, I was lucky enough to celebrate the 35th anniversary of our home DZ with most of them.

It was a 5-jump weekend for me, four on Saturday – starting with a dead sprint to make the first load – and one on Sunday. What can I say, it was a long night and a very cold day at altitude. So, I might just be a freeze baby. What of it?

The weekend was filled with freefly jumps, lots of sit practice with my freefly partner and some excellent coaching opportunities with one of the most incredible freeflyers around. I feel more than fortunate to have been in the air with him and learned so much just from one-off conversations on the ground. Thanks, Joe!

Throughout the weekend we got to jump, eat, drink, and chat with those skydivers who share in the love of a great dropzone. The cookout was delicious, and after a long day of jumping, cracking open that first beer around the bonfire made for the perfect transition to a night of debauchery. I’ll spare you the details. What happens at the bonfire, stays at the bonfire.

(Diane and Rodger, Rick and myself hanging out with the rest of the crew at the bonfire.)

Though it’s all in good fun. Work hard, play hard. Right?

Come Sunday most of the experienced jumpers were moving a little slower than usual, but what’s a better hangover cure than a brisk 60 seconds in freefall?

This was one of the best jumps of the weekend for me. Two-man rolling train into a sit. I held a pretty decent sitfly – enough to participate in a two-man freefly with Joe as he went head down. This was also, by far, the best landing I’ve had with my canopy yet. Perfect braked approach into a landing where I wouldn’t have cracked an egg shell – and perfectly on target. Looks like I’m starting to get this 7-cell thing down. About time!

Due to the cold winds at altitude and the caravan having to leave earlier than expected, I called it a day after one jump. The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up from the night before and reminiscing over the hundreds of pictures that Sandy took over the weekend.

She was even nice enough to burn some onto a CD for me. Here’s a small blip of the events from the 35th anniversary celebration of Canton Air Sports. (Big thanks to Sandy and Lonnie Kirk for these amazing photos.)

(Dirt diving the 6-way hybrid. I was part of the 4-man base with Rick and Joe as hangers.)

(Sandy took lots of great shots of the sport jumpers under canopy!)

(Couple of freeflyers, always wanting to ‘hang’ around.)

(Now that’s what I call dirt dive concentration.)

Blue Skies!

Ashley

2 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Drop Zones, Free Fall, Freefly, Jump buddies, Skydiving Community

It just makes sense – 17. September, 2009

beer-1

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, lots of time this weekend was spent bonding over beers with fellow skydivers.

This has quickly become one of my favorite past times. Not only do we reflect, reminisce, and have a good laugh at the skydives of the day, it’s also a great chance to learn from other jumpers. And of course, what a better way to make new friends than over a cold beer!

After the sunset load on Sunday, I decided to trunk pack out of pure laziness and spent that time having a 1-on-1 pow-wow with one of my favorite belly flyers.

As I sat on the neighboring packing mat, I was asked the same question most of my belly flyer friends have asked lately: “what made you turn to freeflying?”

Funny thing is, my answer has changed over the last couple weeks. Initially, I started dabbling in freefly just to see what it was about, for some variety between big-ways, for a different type of body control practice. All with the goal of becoming what I consider a “well-rounded skydiver.”

But on Sunday, I found myself answering this question quite concisely: “it just makes sense.”

Hybrid4-wide *Photo courtesy of Skydive Orange.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means a full-time member of the freeflyers, but it’s a discipline I’ve begun gravitating toward more and more. I’m still available for RW jumps, so don’t forget about me belly flyers.

But to me, freefly just makes sense. Exit the plane head down, got it. Break off the hybrid into a sit, no problem. I can’t explain why it seems so simple, but from the moment I was instructed on how to sit in freefall – and actually doing it quite easily on my first attempt – I’ve gravitated toward this discipline.

Upon hearing this answer, my belly flyer friend responded in an incredibly encouraging manner. He even recommended some of the best freeflyers around to hook up with for mentoring.

Not that I expected anything less. As much crap as skydivers like to give each other, we’re a very supportive bunch.

For some, belly flying comes natural, they get a thrill out of connecting up in big-ways, making points in smaller groups, and dirt diving every jump along the way. I’ve heard a number of natural belly flyers say they stick to RW for the challenge it brings, and because “they can’t sit to save their lives,” or some version of that phrase.

Others find sitting, standing, and head-down positions to make the most sense. Like me, a lot of these skydivers find big-ways to be stressful and making points just isn’t necessary for a successful jump.

Then of course there’s the people who are in the sport for canopy work – the swoopers and CRW (canopy relative work) groups. I’m a freefall junkie, so I’m definitely not the best source of information here.

crw

(These are some talented CRW jumpers if I’ve ever seen them!)

Regardless of the discipline, at the end of the day, we’re all skydivers. We all love to sit around, talk about our jumps, brag about the good one’s, laugh at the funneled formations and tumbling freeflyers.

This is what makes the sport so great. There’s so much to do, so much to learn, and so much to talk about. Thankfully – after all, that’s why you keep coming back here, right?

In your time as a skydiver, what have you encountered that “just makes sense?” What are some of your favorite parts of the sport?

Blue skies!

Ashley

2 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Freefly, Jump buddies, Trends

Freefly vs. RW – 10. September, 2009

The longer I’m involved in the sport, the more I see the competitive side. Not so much among the belly flyer group or freeflyers (though there is some of that too), but rather, competition between the two groups.

Let me explain with a personal example.

Almost immediately upon my arrival into the skydiving world, I had mentors who took me under their wings. Most of them are amazing belly flyers. I grew to love RW and the challenge of big ways – making points was always a bonus for me!

(A six way during the Jump for Diabetes. I was lucky enough to join a 4-man team to help me with my RW skills. What a great group of guys! Some of the best belly flyers I’ve met yet, and people I will continue to look up to.)

As I’ve progressed, I’ve begun to dabble in freefly. A couple of local freeflyers at my home DZ (Canton Airsports) have been kind enough to show me the way. And as I mentioned last post, this was my focus during the Work Stinks boogie this past weekend. A successful sitfly and head down on my first attempts.

Yes. Beer. I know.

freefly_2-way *Photo courtesy of CSC.

(A linked 2-way head down, similar to this, with Rick was extremely successful. You see what I’m so excited about?)

After these jumps I was stoked, to say the least. So when I ran into a few of my RW companions and we began sharing our jumps of the day, the feelings on both sides of the fence became much clearer.

So much so, that I had a couple belly flyer buddies tell the freeflyers that they weren’t going to steal me away to the “dark side.”

On a personal level, I wouldn’t call any specialty dark. They all have their positives – after all, you’re skydiving regardless right? Sure, freefly is fast, but you don’t get as much freefall time. RW is a challenge and there’s lots of teamwork involved.

At this point in my skydiving, I have yet to commit myself to a specialty. Some may say this isn’t the best route, that I should learn to fly my body, on my belly, become proficient, then move on to freeflying.

But just like life, I crave variety, and I truly believe it’s possible to become a well-rounded skydiver without having to choose sides. Maybe I’m naive. I am a youngin’ in the sport after all.

As such, I’m always open to hearing opinions of the experts in the sport. Last weekend’s bonfire proved highly educational as I listened to freeflyers and belly flyers alike, give advice on focus, building skills, and canopy work. When it comes to skydiving, I’m a sponge, and I crave as much knowledge as I can get.

Personally, I think that’s how all newbies should be. Open to the possibilities. Give freefly a try if you want (after getting a good number of jumps on your belly, of course). Find what comes natural to you, what you like the best.

What is your favorite skydiving specialty?

Blue Skies!

Ashley

0 Comments

Posted in Around the bonfire, Freefly, RW

Beer tab – 2. September, 2009

beer

It seems that my beer tab is increasing exponentially every time I set foot on the dropzone.

I owe for two firsts on Sunday alone! Gotta love being a newbie.

For those who are not familiar with dropzone beer rules, let me explain.

In skydiving, it is an unwritten law that after a milestone in the sport, you are to purchase a case of beer to celebrate said milestone. This beer is typically consumed around the after-hours bonfire where skydivers reminisce about the day’s jumps and bond over the beer purchased by other skydivers.

Milestones are often the “first” experiences: first solo jump, first 4-way, first 8-way, first off-landing, first cut away (in which case you also owe a bottle of liquor to your rigger for a successful reserve ride), first time jumping a new rig, etc. The list goes on.

Some DZs take these rules more seriously than others. I’ve been to places where, if you have more than one first on a single jump, you only owe one case.

I wish that were true at Skydive Tecumseh, where I participated in my first hoop dive while jumping my brand new rig for the first time. This also was Jeromy’s 300th jump for which he owes beer, if you follow the rules outlined here.

I make it a point not to draw attention to my firsts – not that it helps much. There’s always someone paying attention somewhere.

Here’s one of the videos that was captured of the hoop dive, courtesy of Jon Morrison. There were 9 of us that participated. It’s a bit of a zoo, as you’ll notice.

I’m the one giving the exit count. See my new rig? Isn’t it pretty!

And yes, that’s a barrel roll out the door. Not quite intentional. Oops. I initially flew around to the back side of the hoop with the intent of meeting people as they came through, then flew back around and held back as an observer. It was fun to watch from afar!

It was nice that Jeromy was able to get through the hoop first, as this jump was for him. I also enjoy when he tries to make it through again, and Jon turns the hoop and denies him!

Fun weekend, with lots of firsts. Oh, and I forgot to mention water training. Not much to tell there other than being submerged in a pond with five men in 50 degree weather. I may still be hypothermic, but it was surprisingly entertaining.

Archive for the ‘Around the bonfire’ Category

Everglades Boogie 2010 – 8. February, 2010

Post-Christmas Skydive – 28. December, 2009

Gatorz and Bunnies and Balloons, oh my! – 2. November, 2009

SkydiveChick updates – 30. October, 2009

Oh the memories – 14. October, 2009

Home Away from Home – 12. October, 2009

It just makes sense – 17. September, 2009

Freefly vs. RW – 10. September, 2009

Beer tab – 2. September, 2009

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